When a business doesn't show on Google Maps, there are usually three causes: the Google Business Profile is missing or unverified, the profile says the wrong things (category, address, service area), or it's there but too far down for the search being made. Your website is rarely the first culprit. Start by searching your exact business name on your phone. What you see tells you which of the checks below to do first.
Check 1: Search for your own business name
Open Google Maps on your phone and type your business name exactly as customers know it. Then do the same in the normal Google search box.
- Your profile appears with a photo, opening hours and reviews. You exist on Maps. The problem is ranking, so skip to check 4.
- Something appears, but it's wrong or half empty. Someone, possibly a previous owner, may have created it. Go to check 2.
- Nothing appears at all. You probably have no profile, or it has been suspended. Go to check 2.
Also look for duplicates. Two profiles for one business, perhaps from a move or a rebrand, can split your reviews and confuse Google about which one to show.
Check 2: Is your Google Business Profile claimed and verified?
Maps listings come from Google Business Profile, a free tool. A profile you haven't claimed, or haven't finished verifying, is much less likely to appear well, if it appears at all.
Search for your business while signed in to the Google account you think owns it. If you're the owner, you'll see options to edit your profile straight from the results. If you only see a prompt to claim it, you aren't recognised as the owner yet.
Things to look for:
- A "claim this business" or "verify" prompt that was never completed.
- A profile owned by an old email address, a former employee or a web designer who set it up years ago.
- A notice that the profile has been suspended. Google explains the reason in your dashboard, and you can appeal from there.
Who fixes it: you, or whoever manages your marketing. It's free, but verification can need a postcard, a phone call or a short video, so start early.
Check 3: Do the basics match reality?
Once the profile is yours, read it as a stranger would. Google can only match you to a search if the details are right.
- Name. It should be your real trading name, as it appears on your shop front or invoices. Adding keywords to the name is against Google's guidelines and can get a profile suspended.
- Primary category. This is one of the strongest signals you control. "Hairdresser" and "Beauty salon" are not the same thing. Pick the one that describes the main thing customers come for, then add secondary categories for the rest.
- Address or service area. A shop or clinic has a public address. A plumber who works from home and travels to customers can hide the address and list the areas served instead.
- Opening hours. Include bank holiday changes. A profile showing "closed" at the wrong moment loses calls.
- Phone number and website link. Check both work. Ring the number from another phone.
Who fixes it: you. It's a quick job once you have access.
Check 4: Are you there, just not near the top?
Plenty of businesses appear on Maps but sit below competitors for the searches that matter, like "dentist near me" or "plumber Grimsby". Google weighs roughly three things: how relevant your profile is to the search, how close you are to the person searching, and how well known and trusted you appear.
Distance is the one you can't change. The other two you can:
- Relevance: complete every section, add your services, and write a plain description of what you do and where.
- Reputation: ask happy customers for reviews, and reply to every one, good or bad.
- Activity: fresh photos, and the odd update, show the business is open and working.
Here is a worked example, not data. Say you run a salon and appear below two others for "hairdresser near me" even though your reviews are good. Compare the three profiles side by side: who has more photos, who lists services, who replies to reviews. The gap is usually something you can close with an afternoon's work.
Nobody can promise a place at the top of Maps, and anyone who does should make you cautious. You can only remove the reasons for being lower.
Check 5: Only now, look at your website
Your website does matter, just later than people expect. Google looks at it to confirm what you do and where. Check that:
- Your business name, address and phone number on the site match the profile exactly.
- The pages say what you do and which area you cover, in words a customer would use.
- The site loads properly on a phone.
If those are fine, a redesign won't fix a Maps problem. If the site is thin, out of date or hard to use on a phone, then it's worth improving, but it's the last check, not the first.
Where we come in
If your profile is sorted and the website is what's letting you down, our web design service builds fast, clear sites by hand. If the profile and local search are the issue, our SEO work covers it, and you may well be able to do checks 1 to 4 yourself for free.